Malawi has a population of over 17 million people, 50.5 per cent of whom are poor, and 25 per cent of whom are extremely poor. Some 10 per cent of the total population are thought to be living below the extreme poverty line in households with a high dependency ratio (i.e. three or more dependents for every household member who is fit for work). This part of the population, often referred to as ‘unfit-for-work poor people’, is the target population of Malawi’s flagship Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP).